New Scoups in downtown Carson City an investment in family, community

Soup and ice cream only seem like the odd couple of food pairings. But as far as Geoff and Kimberly Landry are concerned, there can be no better complement.

"I've always thought of them as comfort food," Kimberly said. "It's a nice seasonal balance, too."

She and her husband will be opening a new food service business in downtown Carson City early next year, featuring nourishing soup for the soul and soothing ice cream for the heart.

Scoups is planned as a soup and ice cream bar along Bob McFadden Plaza (formerly Third Street) situated next door to Mom and Pop's Diner.

The Landrys envision their first small business venture together as being a place run by family for families.

"That family thing is pretty important," said Geoff.

So important that the Landrys are including their children to be part of the business and help them run it.

Their youngest daughter, Marisa, is a graduate of Carson High School and member of the award-winning culinary arts program. She will be contributing her kitchen talents along with the Landrys' daughter-in-law Gabi.

Two other daughters, Michelle and Megan, will handle communications such as graphic design, marketing and advertising.

"It's always been a goal of ours to keep the family close and together," said Kimberly Landry, who is retiring from a career in front office dentistry to take on the Scoups venture full time. She said having her children be a part of the business will make Scoups feel like home.

"They're fabulous, fun, great kids," she said. From her daughters to their spouses, "all are loving and caring people."

Geoff said keeping the family together has long been a priority for them, and involving them with Scoups is a way to reinforce that cohesion.

"We've actually turned down opportunities in order to stay close enough to our daughters in California so that we're able to hook up with our grandkids," he said. "They all bring a piece to the project that is really super important. They work well with each other and they are a huge support for the business, because everybody brings a different piece."

Going into business together is something Geoff and Kimberly Landry wanted to do not for themselves, but for their immediate family and the extended family of neighbors and friends who they've come to love in the Carson City community.

In fact, community is such an important piece to Scoups that the thought of using soup and ice cream as a way to reach children and their families in the area makes the Landrys misty-eyed.

"It's close to our hearts," said Kimberly, wiping away a tear. "It's important for us to be able to bring something to the kids."

She said even if it's something a simple as donating soup to needy families, then that's a start. But the couple said they yearn to do much more for Carson City youth and their parents.

"I'm a huge supporter of the young folks here in town needing opportunities that haven't necessarily been available to them," said Geoff, a 10-year veteran leader of 4-H. "It's super important to give these kids support."

Kimberly said she wants Scoups to be a safe harbor for children and their families, a place where they feel safe and supported in the community.

"I visualize the kids coming in and having a place to belong," she said. "We want to support them and get involved with the schools to offer incentives that encourage the kids to improve themselves."

The Landrys said they plan to meet with area schools and are hopeful they can work out an incentive program that can motivate students to do better, to do more, and go above and beyond even their own expectations.

They want Scoups involved in community fundraisers, too, everything from school programs to youth sports teams.

"I have high hopes to see what can happen," Kimberly said.

But their outreach through Scoups won't be limited to just the schools, the Landrys said. They also hope to work with agencies that support at-risk youth in the community by providing incentives for self-improvement.

"You can't give up on kids," Kimberly said. "Kids don't mean to be bad. They're in bad situations and things happen. If you can somehow get in touch with even just one kid, and support them a little more, all they need is to know that someone cares."

Geoff said at-risk youth need a light at the end of the tunnel and he sees Scoups as playing a significant role in creating opportunities for children who might otherwise be written off.

"If you give them something to do that they can progress at, it gives them some hope that they can do something else beyond that," he said. "If they had just a little pride in their lives, they'd turn in a minute and become good citizens for the rest of the community."

Good citizenship, the Landrys said, needs to be encouraged among all the youth of Carson City; but especially the at-risk populations, because they can have positive, lasting impacts on what may be negatives in their communities.

"How awesome if an ice cream shop can do all this, right?" said Kimberly.

In addition to getting help from their family to run Scoups, the Landrys said they also want to hire students for part-time work and further give youth opportunities for self-enrichment.

"We are hoping Scoups can create opportunities like this," Kimberly said.

Featuring an ongoing menu of 16 ice cream flavors, Scoups should have plenty of incentives to motivate Carson City children.

Among the flavors to be feature are moose tracks, salted caramel and a unique, blue-colored confection containing pop rocks candy, the Landrys said.

The 16-flavor menu, though, is expected to change periodically, Geoff said, just so Scoups is able to offer the broadest range of flavors possible.

"Those will probably change up just because there are so darned many flavors," he said. "Our intent is to slip in a few sorbets, too, so that everybody has an opportunity to try our products."

The Landrys said they hope to offer gluten-free cones as well in support of the local gluten-free community.

Soups will also be just as varied and diverse, the couple said, with some recipes offered regularly and others seasonally or for special occasions.

From home-made clam chowder served in a San Francisco sourdough bowl to seasonal pumpkin soup, cold summertime soups like gazpacho, vegan choices, and the old reliables like chicken vegetable or chicken noodle, there will be soups to satisfy everybody's souls.

Finally, the menu will feature baked goods, too, the Landrys said, starting with sweet pastries and eventually expanding to other bakery specialties.

What the rotation of soups and ice cream will look like, said Geoff, will depend a lot on input from customers.

"We want to get the community involved to tell us what they like and what they want to see," said Kimberly.

Work on the 1,060 square foot retail space is currently underway and the Landrys are hoping to open Scoups around the first of February.

They are very optimistic that Scoups will be a gathering place for children and families.

With a number of ideas, many of which they are keeping to themselves at the moment, the Landrys want their business to be able to sponsor and put on family-friendly activities on the plaza.

"We're thinking of activities to start that families can do together on a weekend," Geoff said.

Whatever direction their venture takes, Kimberly Landry said the important thing is to make sure Scoups is a place where children and their families can flourish, feel at home and supported in the community.

"I just see it as a place where it's friendly, safe, and a fun, positive place to go," she said.

For more information on Scoups Ice Cream and Soup Bar, like it on Facebook here.